Press

Long Distance Runners of Mexico Are the Subject of a New Photography ExhibitionRun! Super-Athletes of the Sierra MadreMarch 31 through September 30, 2012 at the Penn Museum

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Run! Super-Athletes of the Sierra Madre, a new exhibition of 30 contemporary color photographs by Diana Molina, opens at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia March 31 through September 30, 2012.

Hip Hop Artists “Imagine Africa” with the Penn MuseumAt a Free Community Night Wednesday, March 28, 5:00 to 8:00 pm

Program is Part of Ongoing Imagine Africa Community Engagement Project

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Six local Hip Hop groups and artists—special visitors to the Penn Museum’s African galleries in January—return to the Museum to perform their own original new music and lyrics live at a Free Community Night on Wednesday, March 28, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. Imagine Africa at the Penn Museum and all the Museum galleries are open for the family-friendly evening, which features an African arts and craft table for children and families. Hip Hop Artists “Imagine Africa” with the Penn Museum is co-sponsored by the hip hop radio show, the IIourshow/ThorTakeover, LLC on WNJC 1360 AM.

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Voices of Africa, Cultural Arts Collective choral and percussion ensemble, offers a community workshop and concert on Wednesday, February 22, 6 pm at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia. The family-friendly event, free with Museum admission ($10 adult; $7 seniors 65 and older; $6 students and children 6-17), is a featured program offered in conjunction with the Museum's year-long gallery project, Imagine Africa with the Penn Museum.

An African Cultural Arts Collective that works with a range of Philadelphia area artists from around the African Diaspora, Voices of Africa has performed widely throughout the region, around the country at sites including the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., and the National Women's Music Festival, and at venues internationally since its founding in 1990. The Penn Museum program with Voices of Africa features an ensemble of 6-8 singers, drummers and dancers. The program is curated by Gina Renzi, Director of The Rotunda, a community gathering place in University City, fueled by the belief that art is a catalyst of social change.

PHILADELPHIA, PA—African music, dance, and diverse cultures take center stage on Saturday, February 18, from 1 to 4 pm, when the Penn Museum offers a free community afternoon, part of the ongoing Imagine Africa with the Penn Museum gallery project and public programming initiative that runs through January 2013. Philadelphia radio station 100.3 WRNB is sponsor of the free afternoon, and on air personality Lady B broadcasts live from the Penn Museum between 11 am and 2 pm.

While special activities run from 1 to 4 pm, the Penn Museum opens its doors free to the community for the entire day (10 am to 5 pm), with plenty of time to explore the new Imagine Africa with the Penn Museumgallery project, as well as the African Gallery, the ancient Egyptian Galleries, and beyond.

Dr. Josef Wegner, Associate Curator, Egyptian Section, and Dr. Richard M. Leventhal, Director, Penn Cultural Heritage Center, are featured presenters. Dr. Wegner shares details from his 2011–2012 excavations at Abydos, Egypt. He discusses results of ongoing excavations of the tomb of pharaoh Senwosret III and a program of site development in collaboration with the American Research Center in Egypt and Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities to protect the cultural heritage of Abydos. Dr. Leventhal considers Maya heritage and its relationship to Mexican politics, indigenous rebellion, and tourism, as he focuses on a new Penn project in the Yucatán where a co-operative community heritage and development program is underway. In addition, he describes the goals and field projects of the Penn Cultural Heritage Center. Lecture admission: Pay-what-you-want. Optional reception follows: $35. For more information, call (215) 898-2680.

JANUARY 2012—The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology on the Penn campus in Philadelphia dates its official founding to December 6, 1887. On that date, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania resolved to send “an exploring expedition to Babylonia”—with the stipulation that the University would build “suitable accommodations” to house any artifacts that the first expedition team, and others, would bring back.

"Anthropologists in the Making Summer Camp" for Children Ages 7 to 13 Runs Weekly June 18 through August 10, 2012

PHILADELPHIA, PA—This summer, adventurous children ages 7 through 13 can experience a unique day camp that takes them through time and across continents at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology on Penn's campus in Philadelphia.

"Anthropologists in the Making," runs eight theme-oriented one-week sessions from June 18 through August 10, 2012. Details about the popular camp, coordinated by the Penn Museum's Community Engagement department, are online: www.penn.museum/camp. A downloadable registration form is also available.

PHILADELPHIA–Ring in the magical Year of the Dragon! Penn Museum presents its 31st annual Chinese New Year Celebration on Saturday, February 4, 2012, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. The day features music and dance performances, martial arts demonstrations, workshops, children's activities, and a grand finale lion dance. The celebration is free with Museum admission donation ($10 general admission; $7 senior citizens [65+] and military personnel; $6 students [with ID] and children [6 to 17]; free for children under 6, members, and PennCard holders).

PHILADELPHIA 2011--Grab a "passport" and experience the spirit of the holiday season on Sunday, December 4th, 1:00 - 4:00 pm, at the Penn Museum's 16th annual Peace around the World family afternoon. All visitors receive Museum "passports" with itineraries to visit nine cultures via nine speakers and explore holiday traditions from around the world. The day also features a Middle Eastern drumming workshop, children's world music performances, storytelling, "Adopt an Artifact" activities, face painting by Peanutbutter's artist troupe, balloon art, international family crafts, free treats for children, and more!

Visitors who bring a new, unwrapped toy donation receive buy-one-get-one free admission (of equal or lesser value), one discount admission per toy. All toys will be donated to families, shelters, and community centers in West Philadelphia through Penn Volunteers in Public Service (VIPS), of The Netter Center for Community Partnerships.

As scientists and other scholars study rapid climate changes and climate crises affecting different parts of the world today, relatively little discussion is being focused on climate crises faced by humans in the past. The ancient Maya, the Saharan ancestors of the ancient Egyptians, ancient Romans and medieval Europeans are among many cultures who have faced dramatic climate change, adapting or not adapting to changing conditions throughout the millennia. Can we learn from their strategies—exploring what proved successful, and what did not—as we face our own climate crisis in the 21st century?

The University of Pennsylvania is exploring games with its 2011-12 Year of Games, and the Penn Museum joins in the action, inviting visitors of all ages to an afternoon to learn, play, and discover more about games from all over the world.

Travel the World with Games, a World Culture Day afternoon, runs Sunday, November 6, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm the Penn Museum. Visitors of all ages are invited to learn and play a variety of games with game instructors on hand throughout the Museum's international galleries: Go (an ancient game of Japan), Backgammon (originating in Asia Minor), Chess (originally from Northwest India), Senet (from Egypt, perhaps the oldest game in the world), Mancala (originating in Eritrea or Ethiopia), the Royal Game of Ur (discovered at the site of Ur in ancient Iraq)-and more. The event is free with Museum admission donation.

International Classroom Program at the Penn MuseumCelebrates Fifty Years of Cross-Cultural Education

October 2011—The International Classroom Program, an integral part of the Penn Museum community engagement and education efforts, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Its broad mission—to increase cross-cultural education and understanding—happens program by program, as international speakers connect with school children, families, and adult groups at the Penn Museum and throughout the region.

Since its founding in 1961, International Classroom speakers have visited more than 10,000 classrooms and other settings throughout the region. At the Penn Museum, they participate in the unique and popular "World: Ancient and Modern" programs, where students tour an "ancient" gallery, learning about ancient Egypt or China or the ancient Mediterranean world, and also meet an international student from that same region of the world to learn about cultural continuity and change over time. In addition, International Classroom speakers also participate in a wide range of Museum public events, enriching the Museum's popular world culture days and exhibition openings. The program currently boasts 160 speakers from 60 countries.

Penn Museum in Partnership with Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell PresentsFREE Community Night: An Evening to Imagine AfricaWednesday, October 26, 5:30 to 7:30 pm

Neighbors, friends, and first time visitors are invited to celebrate, explore, and enjoy at the Penn Museum Wednesday, October 26, 5:30 to 7:30 pm, at An Evening to Imagine Africa, a FREE community night. There will be workshops to shake things up—a Hip Hop dance workshop with an instructor from Rennie Harris RHAW, an African Dance Workshop with the Penn student group African Rhythms, plus belly dancing with Habiba, and Spoken Word with the Philly Youth Poetry Movement.

Philadelphia 2011--Welcome! Swagatam! Willkomen! Emedi! International students, scholars, and professionals new to the Delaware Valley are invited to attend this year's 42nd annual International Students Reception on Friday, October 21, 5:00 to 7:00 pm. The Welcome Reception will be held in the Chinese Rotunda at the Penn Museum, 3260 South Street on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia.

Every year the annual Welcome Reception, considered a national model amongst international educators, hosts hundreds of international guests from over 100 countries. Penn Museum's International Classroom program presents this free celebration to connect international guests with the local community and its leaders, and to introduce attendees to the multicultural community of Philadelphia.

Culture Change, Image, and Adaptation, a new Penn Museum First Sunday Film Series, explores a wide range of recent documentary cinema, highlighting new forms of cultural adaptation in today's increasingly mobile and hybrid communities. Faculty experts from the University of Pennsylvania and other universities introduce each film, with open discussion following the screenings. Presented in association with the 2011-2012 Penn Humanities Forum on Adaptations, Penn Museum's First Sunday Film Series runs from October through May, beginning at 2:00 pm in the Museum's Rainey Auditorium, 3260 South Street. The new series is free with Museum admission.

The Secret Cinema is known for screening classic films of all genres at various locations throughout Philadelphia for the past fifteen years--from B-films, to mega-budget Hollywood classics, to obscure shorts. Now, Jay Schwartz, Secret Cinema founder, has specially curated a series of films for the Penn Museum.

On the third Wednesday of the month in September, October, November, and January, Penn Museum welcomes audiences to view a mix of rare, culturally significant, and still powerful vintage films from the early ‘20s and ‘30s, as part of the PM @ Penn Museum fall/winter programming. Secret Cinema projects in 16mm film and never video, so audiences see firsthand the original, high standard film in which motion pictures were shot. Audiences will enjoy an introduction to the show from the Secret Cinema founder as well as complimentary popcorn. Programs are free with Museum admission.

For the most updated information on programs offered at the Penn Museum, and for online pre-registration (optional or required for some programs) visit the Museum's website: www.penn.museum/calendar.

November 2Wednesday, 10:30 amLecture Luncheon ProgramJewelry: Worn to AdornFor thousands of years, jewelry has been used to express everything from status, to personal style, to readiness for marriage. In this, the first of a three-part lecture series presented by the Penn Museum's Women's Committee to benefit the Penn Museum, Dr. Jane Hickman speaks about jewelry and decorative metalwork of the ancient world from the Royal Tombs of Ur (a site in modern-day Iraq). Tickets to "Jewelry: Worn to Adorn": Aphrodite (Benefactor) $100; Diana (Friend) $85. Price includes lecture and luncheon, free verbal jewelry appraisals, jewelry shopping, a raffle auction, and complimentary valet parking at the Trescher entrance. For more information about the full series or to register, call 215.898.9202, or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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November 2Wednesday, 12:30 pmCultural Heritage Center LectureUnderwater Cultural Heritage: The 2001 UNESCO Convention and its ImplementationMariano Aznar, Chair of Public International Law at the University Jaume I in Spain, discusses the ways in which nations can protect their underwater heritage and keep treasure hunters away from shipwrecks. Dr. Aznar is one of the leaders in the implementation of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on underwater cultural heritage. An open discussion will follow a short presentation. Brownbag lecture-bring a lunch! Free; please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
to register.

Human Evolution: The First 200 Million YearsLong-term Exhibition Now Open at the Penn Museum

PHILADELPHIA, PA The ongoing story of human evolution—one that scientists trace back more than 200,000,000 years—is the subject of a long-term installation, Human Evolution: The First 200 Million Years, which opened at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia on September 18, 2011.

Human Evolution invites visitors to explore the process of evolution and its profound impact on humans. The interactive exhibition features a variety of multi-media programs, as well as more than 100 touchable casts of fossil bones from primate and human evolutionary records. Visitors have the opportunity to explore the actual fossil evidence of human evolution, to see how physical anthropologists and other scientists work to interpret the evidence, and to witness the outcome of evolutionary processes in our everyday lives. A complementary website offers an avenue for further exploration, for visitors and non-visitors alike: www.penn.museum/humanevolution.

Outside the Wire, LLC to Present Reading of Joseph Addison's CATO: A TRAGEDY, Followed by Discussions with First Responders, War Veterans, Elected Officials, and Concerned Citizens about the U.S. Response to the Attacks on September 11, 2001

Philadelphia, PA - On Sunday, September 11, 2011-the tenth anniversary of the hijacking of four American planes and the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon-Penn Museum hosts a dynamic new theatrical presentation and an interactive, follow-up discussion facilitated by the nationally acclaimed social impact company Outside the Wire, LLC. The free program to mark the anniversary runs from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in the Museum's Harrison Auditorium (seating is first-come, first-served). Advance registration is recommended: www.penn.museum/calendar.

Visitors to the Penn Museum on September 11 will also have the opportunity to visit a special display, Excavating Ground Zero: Fragments from 9/11 (on view August 20 through November 6, 2011) and attend a 1:00 pm lecture, "Making a Monument: The Fall and Rise of the World Trade Center" presented by Dr. David Brownlee, Shapiro-Weitzenhoffer Professor of the History of Art at Penn (admission is pay-what-you-want).

September 11--An Afternoon RemembranceTen years to the day that two hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, Penn Museum marks the solemn occasion with two special programs September 11, and one October 12--and a powerful display, Excavating Ground Zero: Fragments from 9/11, on view August 20 through November 6, 2011. The program and the display offer visitors a timely opportunity to remember--and reflect anew.

Special DisplayExcavating Ground Zero: Fragments from 9/11August 20 through November 6, 2011

In the weeks, months, and years following the events of September 11, 2001, archaeologists and physical anthropologists excavated the site of the World Trade Center in New York City. Penn Museum's special display features 15 poignant objects recovered at the site of Ground Zero, including eyeglasses, a computer keyboard, glass from the Twin Towers, and visitor badges. Visitors can observe a Twin Towers memorial sculpture and image projections from the day of the attacks. A focal point of the display is a wall where visitors can share memories of September 11. The display invites guests to remember where they were that morning as they view the display of recovered fragments from Ground Zero. The display was organized in conjunction with The National September 11 Memorial Museum.